Christopher Kane On His Ever-Changing Style and Why Neon’s the New Black
With “branding” being the latest ever-present buzzword in the fashion industry, it’s refreshing to find a designer who’s not afraid to shake things up a little.
Christopher Kane has a distinct sense of style, sure, and plenty of signature touches (hello, neon!), but he’s not afraid to keep things moving—a trait that makes his shows a joy to watch season after season.
“People always ask me why I change my collections so radically from season to season, and I think ‘I'm a designer, what do you expect?’” Kane told the Wall Street Journal. “I'm so interested in fabrics and new techniques. I'm always learning. You wouldn't ask a musician or an artist why they did something new. I think fashion is the same.”
The designer, who’ll show his eponymous collection in London on Monday and his Versus line for Versace in Milan, isn’t afraid of eschewing the status quo.
“When I sent a flat shoe down the catwalk, people said, ‘I don't get it,’” he said, referring to the spa-like slipper sandals he paired with his Spring 2012 collection. “I was like, ‘It's a flat shoe, how difficult is it to understand?’”
And in an industry where so many prefer wearing head-to-toe black (guilty!), he also loves all things blindingly bright.
“Neon is the new black,” he said. “It's one of the most recently invented colors, if you think about it. When I did my first collection, no one was using neon; now, it's everywhere. Everyone sat up in their seats and thought ‘Now what am I watching?’ It was very powerful.”
